June 17: The House of Representatives has passed the Appropriation Bill, 2079 BS on Thursday amid protest from UML lawmakers.

The proposal to pass the Appropriation Bill, 2079 tabled by Finance Minister Janardan Sharma during parliament meeting on Thursday was passed by a majority votes.

The main opposition party, the CPN-UML, had boycotted the meeting, accusing Finance Minister Janardan Sharma of involving unauthorized persons in the process of drafting the budget.

The House of Representatives meeting also passed the Finance Bill 2022; Bill Designed to Recover Public Debt 2022 and Bill on Debts and Surety (25th amendment) by a majority of votes.

Responding to the lawmakers’ concerns on Bill Designed to Recover Public Debt 2022, Finance Minister Sharma said debts would be collected only if necessary. Minister Sharma also argued that productions should be encouraged by discouraging loans.